UPDATED:
Last week, Siohvaughn Funches, ex-wife of NBA star Dwyane Wade, turned heads by portraying herself as homeless in a very public display.
Sitting on the ground outside The Richard J. Daley Center in Chicago on Friday, Funches posed with a friend who held a sign proclaiming: “NBA MIAMI HEAT STAR MOTHER OF HIS CHILDREN ON THE STREETS.”
In a video posted by the Chicago Sun-Times, Funches accuses Wade of failing to pay child support — despite having $90 million — while stationed on the street.
“I got three months of child support in about a six year period,” she tells onlookers in the video. Funches also says she alone has provided their children with their school uniforms and supplies, leaving her penniless.
“Now I sit here today with nothing left,” she says on camera.
“Wade and Funches-Wade were married in 2002 and have two sons, Zion and Zaire,” according to The Huffington Post. “Wade filed for divorce in 2007, and after a lengthy divorce and custody battle, the divorce was finalized in 2010.”
[youtubevid http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTsYsF21QAw&w=560&h=315]
Wade has responded through his attorney, Jim Pritikin, who released a statement asserting that the Miami Heat player has met his financial responsibilities regarding his ex-wife. Wade was awarded sole custody of their sons in 2011.
“Dwyane Wade and his ex-wife Siohvaughn Funches have reached a financial settlement,” the statement reads.
Various outlets have reported that “Wade will pay his ex-wife $5 million and there is a non-disparage agreement in the settlement,” according to ESPN.com.
“The agreement was submitted in court last Tuesday, July 16 prior to Ms. Funches’ recent unfounded and erratic public display outside the courthouse this past Friday,” the statement continues. “Dwyane Wade has made several requests over the years to settle this matter, despite Ms. Funches having 16 different attorneys and 2 arrests throughout this process. Mr. Wade has provided a very generous settlement to Ms. Funches to continue to live a wonderful lifestyle for the rest of her life.”
According to Pritikin, Wade has consistently provided Funches with a sum of $25,000 per month, and has “timely paid for her home mortgage, maintenance and security at the house, 4 cars, insurance, taxes and all of her attorney fees throughout this process,” of coming to a settlement.
Pritikin adds, “Ms. Funches has made a mockery of homelessness which is a serious and personal issue for Mr. Wade as his mother was homeless for a period of time when he was a child.”
Funches complained on Friday that Wade and the judges presiding over their settlement are requesting that she remain silent about their relationship in exchange for providing her with adequate living funds.
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This article was updated to include the amount of the final divorce settlement between Siohvaughn Funches and Dwyane Wade.